Toronto Marlies Fall To Belleville Senators In Final Game Before Holiday Break

The Toronto Marlies fell 4-3 to the Belleville Senators on Friday night. This was the Marlies final game before the holiday break.

In the first period, Logan Shaw got the visitors on the board quickly with a goal just 1:14 into the game. Belleville responded quickly, as Tyler Boucher scored just 36 seconds later to tie the game at 1.

In the second, Kyle Clifford scored at 11:56. But, before the period was over, Belleville tied the game at two thanks to a goal from Roby Jarventie.

In the final frame, Belleville took a quick lead, scoring just 25 seconds into the frame. Kyle Clifford tied the game at three later in the period, but Belleville scored a fourth goal with 1:32 remaining to secure the victory.

The Toronto Marlies return to action on Tuesday, December 26th at Scotiabank Arena for their Boxing Day Classic against the Belleville Senators. Puck drop is at 2:00pm on the Toronto Maple Leafs app and AHLTV.

SCORING SUMMARY

Toronto:  L. Shaw (10) (K. Bellows), K. Clifford (4) (M. Lajoie, Z. Solow), K. Clifford (5) (C. Gaunce)Goaltender: D. Hildeby (24/28) L

Belleville: T. Boucher (1) (Unassisted), R. Jarventie (5) (G. Pilon, T. Kleven), Z. Ostapchuk (6) (C. Reinhardt, E. Sokolov), M. Highmore (3) (L. Thomson, G. Pilon)Goaltender: K. Mandolese (31/34) W

ON THE SCORESHEET

Logan Shaw scored at 1:14 of the first period. He has goals (2) in consecutive games. Shaw has 19 points (10 goals, 9 assists) in 22 games this season.Kyle Clifford scored at 11:56 of the second period and at 17:50 of the third period. He has 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) in 19 games this season. Kieffer Bellows had the lone assist on Shaw’s first period goal. He has points (4-2-6) in four consecutive games. Bellows has 18 points (10 goals, 8 assists) in 18 games with this season.Max Lajoie recorded the primary assist on Clifford’s second period goal. He has eight points (1 goal, 7 assists) in 16 games with the Marlies this season.Zach Solow picked up the secondary assist on Clifford’s second period goal. He has points in (2-1-3) three consecutive games. Solow has eight points (3 goals, 5 assists) in 20 games this season.Cameron Gaunce registered the lone assist on Clifford’s third period goal.Dennis Hildeby stopped 24 of 28 shots he faced.

TEAM NOTES

The Marlies went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill and 0-for-3 on the power play. Toronto is 7-6-1-0 when not scoring on the power play and 6-4-0-1 when not allowing a goal on the penalty kill.Toronto had a 34-28 edge in shots in all situations. Logan Shaw led the Marlies with six shots on goal. Toronto is 8-6-2-1 when outshooting their opponent.The Marlies are 3-4-3-1 against North Division opponents and are 1-1-1-0 against the Senators.RECORD WHEN

Scoring first: 12-1-3-1 Tied after 1st: 1-3-2-1 Tied after 2nd:  2-1-0-1 On the road: 6-4-1-1 December: 5-3-0-0 Friday: 2-3-1-1

MARLIES LEADERS *Amongst active AHL players

Goals               11 (A. Steeves)Assists            17 (N. Abruzzese)
Points              24 (A. Steeves)PPG                 3 (D. Ovchinnikov)Shots               69 (L. Shaw)+/-                    +14 (J. Blandisi)PIMS                53 (K. Clifford)

POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH JOHN GRUDEN

On tonight’s game:(Belleville) plays hard. They play straight lines. They are what they are and they make it hard on you. They’re a good forechecking team and for the most part, I thought we handled it pretty well until we had a breakdown to start the third period. At the end of the day, all they do is throw pucks at net and three of them fall in the back so, we have to be a little tighter in certain parts but for the most part, I thought we played a pretty solid game.

UPCOMING GAMES:*All times Eastern Standard Time

December 26 vs. Belleville – 2:00 p.m. (Scotiabank Arena)December 27 at Cleveland – 7:00 p.m.December 30 vs. Belleville – 4:00 p.m.January 3 vs. Cleveland – 4:00 p.m.January 6 vs. Syracuse – 4:00 p.m.